Tom Cruise's Manliest Roles

The 10 Manliest Tom Cruise Roles

The Tom Cruise hate has gone on long enough. Sure, he wouldn’t be our first choice of celebrities to have a beer with. But while you don’t have to like him off-screen, you can’t deny the seriously impressive work he's done onscreen. He’s an action star who can also act, and an A-lister willing and able to take on movies and roles other mega-stars wouldn’t touch for fear of ruining their “brand."

Just take a look at Cruise’s prolific resume. The man’s landed more big hits than a heavyweight boxer. And his latest, Oblivion, has the actor returning to the sci-fi genre as Jack Harper, one of the last humans remaining on Earth as a clean-up crew after an alien invasion nearly destroyed the planet some 60 years earlier. Visually gorgeous and with a script that plays up Cruise’s acting abilities as much as his action prowess (despite a few plot holes), Oblivion is yet more confirmation that the leading man can still carry a blockbuster even as he blows past age 50.

Maybe it’s time we stopped judging Cruise for jumping on Oprah’s couch, and started judging the man on his work again. With Oblivion in theaters now, we're looking back at Cruise’s top 10 roles. And if your favourite missed the cut, well, you just proved my point.